Listening to Your Body's Wisdom: The Power of Felt Sense

As a health and wellness coach specializing in grief, I often work with clients who know something is wrong but can't quite put it into words.

They describe a heaviness in their chest, a tightness in their throat, or a vague sense of "stuckness" that defies simple explanation.

This is where the profound work of focusing comes in—a practice that teaches us to attend to what Eugene Gendlin called the "felt sense." This isn't just an emotion or a thought. It's that murky, bodily knowing that lives beneath our conscious awareness, waiting to be acknowledged.

In my practice, I guide clients to pause and turn their attention inward. Not to analyze or fix, but simply to notice:

What does this grief feel like in your body right now? Where do you sense it? If it had a quality or texture, what would that be?

What emerges is often surprising. A client grieving their mother might discover their sadness feels like a " heavy, damp blanket." Another, processing a life transition might sense "something wanting to unfold, like a rose bud." These sensations are the body's authentic language.

The magic happens when we give these sensations gentle, curious attention without rushing to fix them. The body begins to shift. The fog might lighten. The bud might soften.

New insights emerge organically from within rather than being imposed from outside.

This is true wellness work—honoring that your body holds wisdom your mind hasn't yet accessed. In grief, in stress, in times of uncertainty, your felt sense is a compass pointing toward what needs attention and care.

The answers you're seeking aren't just in your head. They're already living in your body, waiting for you to listen.

What is your body trying to tell you today?